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Monday, March 24, 2014

Motherhood Realized

I write and edit for an organization called Power of Moms, and they are releasing a book this month called Motherhood Realized. It's a compilation of some of their most read and most shared posts from their website.

I know I may be biased, but I think the book is pretty awesome. I helped with some of the initial editing of the manuscript, and I was amazed by the quality of the essays, which are all written by everyday moms about their everyday experiences. Though these are not professional writers or childhood psychologists, the insights that they share are profound, touching, and encouraging. I think the title "Motherhood Realized" is fitting because this book represents therealizations that dozens of mothers have had over years of calming tantrums, witnessing milestones, struggling through family heartbreaks, celebrating family joys, and living each day as mothers. These topics have been addressed in countless books and articles over the years, but what struck me as I read over the manuscript of this book is that the insights shared seemed really "fresh" and unique to me--not just the same old motherhood cliches.

This is a book a busy mom could easily read because each essay only takes a couple of minutes to peruse. You could keep it on your nightstand and read an essay each night or each week to help inspire you after a long, chaotic day. After each essay, there is a "question" and a "challenge" to get you thinking about your own mothering experience.

This is not a "how to" book with ideas about getting your baby on a schedule or feeding your kids organic foods or anything like that--it's about the realizations that come along the way as we mother, about finding more joy, about enduring the hard times with grace, about loving our children better and more deliberately. There is nothing in this book that will give you "mom guilt." Nothing. It will leave you feeling uplifted, I promise.

Two of the essays I have written for the website are published in the book: one about my mother's battle with breast cancer, and one about my difficult first year of motherhood. I will also be reading the essay about my mom at a "book launch" event that Power of Moms is hosting in Salt Lake City on the evening of Thursday, April 3rd. If you live in that area, you should come! The founders of POMs will be speaking, and many of the authors published in the book will be reading their work. Details here.

I strongly recommend buying this book! I don't think you will regret it--in fact, if you do, I will buy your copy back from you and give it to one of my friends/sisters as a gift. (Yes, I just offered a money-back guarantee...I feel like a real saleswoman!) Power of Moms is hoping that the book can make the New York Times' Best Sellers list, so more moms worldwide will hear about it and will be uplifted by the message that nothing in life is as important as family, and motherhood, though difficult, is beautiful and worthwhile.

So if you are interested in buying the book, don't delay--do it right now, or this week, because the pre-sale numbers are what determine whether it gets on the "best sellers" list. I get a free copy of the book because I am published in it, but I am going to head over to Amazon today and order a few more to give as gifts. (I think it would be a great Mothers' Day or baby shower gift.) Amazon will restock the books by April 8th (the official release date) but don't hesitate to order now.

I know this might feel a little gimmicky, but I promise you, this is an amazing organization that has blessed my life, and this is an amazing book that I really think will bless your life as well. (And remember, if it doesn't, there's always my awesome money-back guarantee.)

And just because this post isn't long enough and salewoman-ish enough already, here is a link to one of my favorite essays published in the book (it's really hard to choose, but this one stands out to me for some reason): http://powerofmoms.com/2012/12/the-power-of-pause/. Maybe I will post some more of these links this week to convince you that you really need to order this book.

THE LITTLE GAL

Lover of squishes from Mama, snuggles from Daddy, and tickles from Brother

Who feels content and smiley first thing in the morning

Who needs shoes that will actually stay on her kicking, wiggly feet

Who gives mega-watt grins that melt the heart

Who fears the raucous (but affectionate) smothering of her older brother

Who would like to see her aunties and grandparents more often

Resident of a comfy one-story home where she is the queen

THE LITTLE GUY

Lover of the Polar Express, all things sugar, and his "Baby Sister"

Who feels ecstatic when "chuffing" one of his beloved trains around the house

Who needsexplanations for everything, big and small

Who gives strangers a reason to smile with his friendly chatter

Who fears"spooky" shadows, scary scenes in movies, and toilets that flush by themselves

Who would like to see a friend come over to play every single day

Resident of a house covered in photos of him and his sister

RACH

Lover of conversationswith a kindred, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and Idaho sunsetsWho feels overwhelmingly happy when nibbling on one of her delicious childrenWho needs daily quiet time to thinkWho fears losing someone else whom she loves

Who givescare packages to her friends and love letters to her kids and RyanWho would like to see more openness, compassion, and individuality in the worldResident of a little house with cute daisy bushes in front

RY

Lover of ice cream, the night sky, and dance parties with his happy kidsWho feels glorious at the peak of an Idaho mountainWho needs alone time to just look at the ceiling when he gets home from workWho gives froyo gift certificates and sugar-free suckers to his dental patientsWho fears talking on the phone and settling for less than his potentialWho would like to see family cartrips in a minivan to explore the WestResident of Twin Falls, ID

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"Don't you quit. You keep walking, you keep trying, there is help and happiness ahead...Trust God, and believe in good things to come." Jeffrey R. Holland

"I believe that the first test of a truly great man is his humility...he sees something divine in every other man and is endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful." John Ruskin

"God is the gardener here. He knows what He wants you to be." Hugh B. Brown

"You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt

"In this life, we cannot do great things--only small things with great love." Mother Teresa"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing." Ben Franklin"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning." Gordon B. Hinckley

"A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race." Joseph Smith

"Come what may, and love it." Joseph B. Wirthlin

"Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are -- chaff and grain together -- certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away." George Eliot

"If I were sunk into the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all of the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I would not be discouraged, but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage, and I should come out on the top of the heap." Joseph Smith

"After the bare requisites to living and reproducing,man wants most to leave some record of himself, a proof, perhaps, that he has really existed. He leaves his proof on wood, on stone, on the lives of other people." John Steinbeck

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but that our power to do is increased." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver

"Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them. But do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight." Helen Keller